Boot or shoe.



y LW. FRANLIN." v soo on suoi. QPPLICATION FILED AUBJ, I9l5.

MSL@ l. Patntea May 2,1916.

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JAMES W'. FRANKLIN, OF 4BRISTOL, RHODE ISLANDfASSIGrNOR TO NATIONALINDIA RUBBER CO.y A CORPORATION 0F RHODE ISLAND.

BOOT OR SHOE.

Application led August 7, 1915.

To @ZZ whom/'15 may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES WV. FRANKLIN, a citizen of the UnitedK States,residing at Bristol, county of Bristol, State of Rhode Island, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Boots or Shoes, ofwhich-the following is a full, clear, and eX act description.

This invention relates to boots and shoes, more particularly to shoesofthat general type having a rubber sole and a fabric upper.

It is customary in constructing a shoe of this type to form the sole ofsuch length that it extends throughout the entire ball, shank and heelportion of the upper. The sole is secured to the upper partially bycementing to the insole, and partially by a rubber strip known asfoxing, which extends along the wall of the upper and unites the edge ofthe rubber sole to the sides of the upper. A rubber heel of the hollowor lshell type, which has been previously molded and partiallyvulcanized, is secured to the heel portion of the sole by cementing itsconcave top surface throughout to the bottom face of the heel portion ofthesole, and during vulcanization of the article, the heel becomesunited to the sole, the considerable contacting surfaces of the heelportion of the sole and the rubber heel being depended upon to make airm joint between the' sole and heel.

The disadvantage hitherto existing in a shoe constructed as abovedescribed, is that it has been impossible to obtain a non-separablejoint between the heel portion of the solel and the rubber heel.-Furthermore, the edge of the heel portion of the sole has alwaysexisted as an unsightly ledge at the base of the counter of the shoe.

To obviate the above described disadvantages `my present inventionprovides an 'integral strip of rubber extending upwardly from theconcave top surface of the heel and lying substantially flush withthe'outer wall of the heel, this strip being of suflicieut height toextend up over the upper or the heel foxing of the shoe, as the case maybe, and serving to localize the attachment of the rubber heel upon theupper Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented M [ay 2, 1916.

serial No. 44,155.

itself, as distinguished from vattaching the heel tothe sole, ashitherto. To accommodate this novel heel construction, I discon- J tinuethe heel portion of the sole at, and

countersink the same in, the front wall of the rubber heel, where it issecurely united to the heel. As a result, a great saving of stock iseffected in the use of this short rubber sole, over the use of the usuallong rubber sole, which extends back over the entire top surface of therubber heel.

For a detailed description of the invention reference may bfc had to thefollowing specification and to the accompanying drawing forming a partthereof, in which- Figure 1 is a view in elevation showing a rubber solecanvas shoe embodying my improvements; Fig. 2 is a fragmentarylongitudinal sectional view through the shoe shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 isa plan view of the assembled rubber sole and heel constructed inaccordance with my invention: Fig. 4is a View in elevation lookingtoward the front wall of the rubber heel. Fig. 5

is a plan view of a modified form of heel. l

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of the modified form shown inFig. 5.

Referring to the drawing, in which like characters of referencedesignate similar parts, 10 designates the ordinary fabric.v

such as canvas, upper of a shoe.

In carrying out my invention, I provide a rubber heel 11, preferably ofthe hollow or interior chamber, or shell construction shown, but notnecessarily so, and which is preferably molded and preferably partiallycured, the mold sections being so constructed that anI upstanding strip1Q. of rubber exists around the edge of the concave top surneatappearing and strong joint with the upper, as will be hereinafter morefully described. The heel is formed furthermore with a countersink orrecess 15 in the top surface of `its front wall 1l. and into thiscountersink I fit and preferably cement the rear end portion 16 of arubber sole 1T, the latter being preferably in a raw or green state, sothat the joint between the sole and licei becomes integral and unitaryduring vulcanization of the article. It will be noted especially thatthe heel portion of the rubber sole is only about half an inch more orless in length and extends only upon the front wall of the rubber heel,consequently. a great saving in rubber stock is effected over the usualconstruction without sacrificing strength or durability in the article.

As shown in Fig. the front Wall of the heel may be formed underneath therecess 15 with an integral forwardly extending horizontally disposedrubber strip 12 which overlaps the shanlcportion of the rubber sole and'strengthens the joint between the sole and heel. l

In building the shoe, the bottom edge of the upper is turned inwardlyunderneath the insole 18 and is preferably cemented to the latter. Belowand cemented to, or otherwise united to the insole, is the usual filler19, ordinarily formed of rag stock and provided on the bottom face witha rubberized fabric layer 20, which, during vulcanizatiou of the shoe,gives a firm bond between the rubber sole and the filler. A strip offoxing 21, of raw rubber, is run entirely7 around the toe, arch, andheel portions of the upper and is turned underneath the insole. The soleand heel,` which are preferably separately assembled, although notnecessarily so, are now applied, the heel being positioned so that theupstanding rubber strip 12 contacts with the heel foxing of the upper,and the sole being positioned to contact with the toe and instep foxing,as shown. Preferably, the entire top surface of the rubber sole and topsurface of the heel, as well the inner surface of the upstanding strip1Q, are cemented before application to the shoe, so that duringvulcanization the firm` est union between the various parts will beinfoduced. 'rl`o ci niplete the article, the saine is placed in theheater or vuli'fanizer and vulcanized.

By virtue ol the upstauding strip 12 ol" thc rubber heel. extending up aconsiderable distance over thc hecl loxing and being unitedduringvulcanization in integral unitary association therewith. the heelwill he firmly attaclud 'to the upper at a localized portion at the baseol4 the counter of the upper. Thus the joint between the rubber heel andthe upp'cr localised on the wall of the upper entirely above the topsurface of the heel, in contradistinction to the joint being below therubber sole itself, as hitherto.

From the above description, and by reference` to the accompanyingdrawings, itwill be clearly evident that the product is devoid of theusual unsightly joint made by a rubber sole extending over the entiretop face of the heel, and that the strip 12 forming as it does acontinuation of the heel, produces a neat appearing joint that is iushwith the'wall of the upper.

The constructions above described result in a shoe that is not onlypleasing in appearance and comfortable to the wearer, but which is alsovery durable, as it has been found that the upper is firmly united tothe l heel by the methods employed as above described, and the usualseparable strata of sole and heel positively obviated.

Although the invention may find its widest application as applied torubber sole shoes,l it also may be applied to an overshoe or a rubberboot, and it will be understood that although the invention isparticularly described and illustrated in the drawings as embodied in arubber sole fabric upper shoe, it is not designed to be restrictedthereto, but may be embodied in an overshoe, a ruimer boot. or in factany article of footwear.

l beliexe that l am the first to produce an article characterized by thefeatures particularly pointed out above, and therefore, l do not limitmyself to the exact construetion described and illustrated, it beingunderstood that modifications may be resorted to within the scope of theappended claims. without departing from the spirit or sacrilicing any ofthe advantages of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A shoe comprising an upper, a heel having vertical and bottom wallsdefining an interior chamber, an upstanding rubber strip integral withand extending above the top surface of said wall and attaching said heelto said upper above said surface, there being a counter-sink formed insaid surface, and a sole attached to said upper and having a short heelportion fitting in said countersink.

2. shoe comprising a fabric upper, a rubber heel, an upstanding rubberstrip extending around the sides and back of said heel and terminatingat the front of said heel and attaching the heel to the counter portionof the upper above the top surface of' the heel, and a rubber soleattached to said upper and to said licei and terminating near theterminals of said strip.

i. A shoe comprising a fabric upper, a concave rubber heel having anintegral U-shaped upstanding rubber strip extend- 10 extending above thetop surface of the, heel and uniting the heel to the Wall of the upperabove the top surface cf the heel, and hmvving an integral stripextending forwardly from the front Wall, and a rubber sole se- -cured tothe upper and tc the heel, said forwardly extending strip overlappingand being secured to said sole.

Signed at Bristol, Rhode lsland, July 27,

JAMES XV. FRANKLIN.

Copies of this patent 'magr be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner ci' Patente,

Washington, D. GJ

